Major pharmaceutical companies have received a written request from House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-OH) for records related to possible "censorship" efforts in tandem with the federal government.
Jordan sent letters on Tuesday to Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Merck & Co. asking for information and documents in connection to any steps it could have taken to classify certain content as "misinformation" in partnership with government employees. The three companies received an "invite" from the Department of Health and Human Services in December 2020 to meet with Stanford University and executive branch agencies to discuss "a coalition to respond to COVID-19 vaccine disinformation," according to records obtained by the committee.
WHITE HOUSE LAUNCHES PROGRAM TO LABEL CYBERSECURITY RISKS OF SMART DEVICES
"Whether directly or indirectly, a government-approved or facilitated censorship regime poses a grave threat to the First Amendment and American civil liberties," Jordan wrote in the letters on Tuesday to the companies. "Accordingly, as part of the committee’s constitutional oversight obligations, we write to request relevant information and documents."
Republicans have continued to investigate the Biden administration's efforts alongside private actors to flag certain examples of disfavored speech as "misinformation" or "disinformation." Conservatives cheered upon a federal judge issuing a preliminary injunction in early July restricting federal officials from contacting social media companies to thwart content. However, a U.S. appeals court temporarily blocked the prior lower court order on Friday, making the administration not bound by it for now.
In his letter, Jordan said the documents his committee received raise questions about how the government may have worked alongside the three pharmaceutical companies to undermine the "civil liberties of American citizens." The chairman cited reporting from journalist Lee Fang based on internal Twitter documents to allege "the pharmaceutical industry pressured social media platforms to take down posts related to producing low-cost generic vaccines," according to the letter.
Federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have come under particular criticism from Republicans for remaining in contact with social media companies on the subject of COVID-19 "misinformation." For instance, in May 2021, the CDC forwarded Twitter employees a highlighted chart of posts filled with alleged misinformation and also invited the private actors to a COVID-19 meeting over Zoom, according to documents obtained by America First Legal, a conservative nonprofit group.
AFL sued the State Department in early July to obtain records on "censorship" grants steered from the Global Engagement Center, an interagency. The GEC has been linked to partisan efforts to thwart alleged disinformation and steered $100,000 to the Global Disinformation Index, a British think tank the Washington Examiner revealed earlier this year has been blacklisting conservative news outlets from ad dollars.
The index previously pressured advertisers to punish websites boosting the COVID-19 lab leak theory, which certain federal agencies have determined was the likely cause for the spread of the disease, the Washington Examiner reported.
Jordan is asking for the pharmaceutical companies to hand over records dating back to January 2020 showing possible communications between their employees, contractors, or agents with the government or tech companies on "moderation, deletion, suppression, restriction, demonetization, or reduced circulation of content," according to the letter.
The committee chairman is also requesting a list of personnel from the companies who may have communicated with tech companies or the government on content moderation. Moreover, he asked for a list of all grants, contracts, or funds handed to them by the government.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Jordan set an Aug. 1 deadline for the records to be turned over. Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Merck did not reply to requests for comment.
The HHS did not reply to a request for comment.